Family Plan from Accountable2You
Let's face it, the internet - with all the good and bad, is part of our daily lives. Even our children's lives. We have been exploring the Family Plan from Accountable2You for the past month.
Accountable2You is NOT a filtering program, but rather offers you an extra pair of eyes, so to speak. The Family Plan gives you the option to download it to twenty devices and it works with multiple family members, including those who don't live at your address. It is a quick download for your computer, or an app for your mobile device. It works on both IOS and Android devices.
In addition, Accountable2You offers other plan options including the Individual Plan (up to 6 devices), Group Plan (great for a homeschool group or a youth group), and the Small Business Plan (for your own buisness).
It's easy to set up your account, and you can also create accounts for family members. We focused on my husband's iPhone (thanks for setting a good example!), our family iPad and my laptop. Once accounts are created, you determine your accountability partner. This person receives a daily email of your usage.
I really like all the features you can customize. You can set time limits, activate GPS tracking and screen for objectionable words that you select. You can easily see the usage in the Reports - even with a graph of hours and programs used. On my husband's phone, it just shows the AU App usage, you do have to disable Safari - and use the App to log activity. It cannot monitor all app usage on the iPhone.
On my laptop, the Reports break it down to the program usage. One thing I didn't like was that the Operating System usage appears as well. The chart on the bottom lets you see when the device is being used, and you can set time limits for your children, or be alerted if the device is being used after specific hours.
The daily emails sent to the accountability partner allow you to see what sites have been accessed. This was an eye-opener to how much "surfing" and mindless time we have been spending on our devices! We have had great family discussions on just how much time we spend online, and what we are missing. Accountable2You has been a great tool!
Overall, the concept of having someone watching over your activity is WAY better than installing filters that diminish your computer's ability. Personally, I would rather teach my family about monitoring themselves now and maintaining accountability than hope that that when unfiltered internet is available, they will be responsible. Eventually, we all encounter the ability to do use the internet in ways that are not healthy. Accountable2You helps you teach them early responsibility.
I highly recommend this easy-to-use program. Our devices worked perfectly with it installed. It gave us tools and information to keep our family safe online, and teach good habits.
Find Accountable2You on Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/accountable2you
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/accountable2youllc
Hashtags: #hsreviews #internetaccountability #internetsafety
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